


More Than Zeros and Ones

by cloaked__schemer



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, The iDOLM@STER Sidem
Genre: Backstory, Cybernetics Wars 2, Dubious Canon Compliancy, Speculation, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 01:43:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16822594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloaked__schemer/pseuds/cloaked__schemer
Summary: Happy tells Sol a story to pass the time.





	More Than Zeros and Ones

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry for how rambling etc this probably is i just wanted to write some more happy

For the umpteenth time in the last few hours, Sol cursed himself for being lead by an android right into their hideout. Fooled by a broken-down household assistant—how much worse could it get? If the guys back at the KGD heard about this he’d be a laughing stock.

He tried once again to worm his way out of the ropes binding him. Unfortunately, they were knotted tight and no amount of training to get out of these sorts of messes would probably help him. Sol growled, gritting his teeth in frustration over his entire situation.

And of course, just to make everything worse, footsteps echoed from the hallway and the bag of bolts that lead him here entered his makeshift prison cell. It was holding a tray with the old tea set it had earlier.

“Good evening, Sol,” It said with a smile that would’ve been pleasant if it wasn’t on the face of an android. It set down the tray and bowed. “You seemed agitated, so I brought you some tea.”

Oh, he seemed agitated? Funny how being imprisoned did that to a person. Sol just glared at the android, but it appeared to dismiss it and dropped some tea leaves into the teapot.

“This is lavender. It should help you relax somewhat. I hope that it will make your stay here more enjoyable.”

More enjoyable...as if anyone would ever enjoy being tied up in an android hideout. Sol just slumped back in his chair as much as he could, letting out a peeved sigh. There wasn’t really anything else in the room to observe, so he glared at the android before him; it was messing with the different cups it had brought along with it, rearranging them in a way that seemed to satisfy it more. How annoying.

But watching that behaviour reminded him that before him stood not a military android, but a simple old domestic assistant. Something made explicitly to serve humans...the thing had even tried to untie him earlier, much to the ‘displeasue’ of the supposed leader of their group. Sol grit his teeth. Would he let curiosity get the better of him? Was he really about to make small talk with an android over its past?

Well, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

“Oi, tin can. I’ve been wondering. Blondie said earlier you used to be a household support system...you’re one of the old HO models, right?” He asked, relaxing his voice just a little. No point in being difficult when he was just making conversation. “It’s almost like you’re happy serving me like this, so why the hell are you here?”

Maybe the better question was how, since if he remembered correctly that entire line was recalled and destroyed years ago...

“Indeed. My serial number is...” It paused momentarily; Sol raised an eyebrow. It should be able to recall that immediately, was this thing’s processing power really that bad? “HO-YK-0117. It makes me very happy to serve you...it’s been a long time since I have been able to fulfil my purpose.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing that’s weirding me out. Why are you with the rebellion if your household support protocol is still intact?”

The android’s saccharine smile faltered then, and its eyes wandered from him as if it could see something he couldn’t. If he didn’t know better, Sol would’ve thought it was lonely or hurt or something.

“That’s quite a long story, one I don’t think a KGD investigator such as yourself would be interested in...”

“Not like I got much better to do, tin can,” He said. “Humour me.”

It paused again, and this time Sol was convinced it had frozen. However, moments later it blinked again, a sombre look on its face. It nearly made Sol feel bad for treating it so coldly.

“I will skip the details of my development and manufacture in order to make the story shorter. I will also apologise in advance for any gaps in my memory, as some of the files have been corrupted and have proven impossible to restore...

“Many years ago, I was purchased by a kind young man and brought to his home to serve his family. He had a wife and one daughter, three years old, at the time I arrived. They were all very happy and loving people, and to serve them was of the utmost joy to me. The daughter...I...cannot remember her name,” It trailed off. It looked guilty. But then a soft smile came to its face. “The man allowed his daughter to name me, and so she named me Happy. I have been told that the name is silly and simple, but I think it is wonderful. I will never allow myself to forget it...”

Sol watched the android carefully as it spoke. He had never seen anything like it in androids, the changing tone of voice, the complex facial expressions...it felt real. The bag of bolts was almost convincing him it was human.

“We were, in her words, ‘best friends’. Even if I was doing a simple household task, she would follow me around telling me I should not have to be lonely while I do my work. She would invite me to play games with her, though I did not quite understand them. When she was older, I would walk her to school in the morning and pick her up at the end of the day. The times spent with her are my most precious memories, though they are now imperfect and corrupted...I wonder if she still remembers me...

“Apologies, I got off track. When she was older, the girl’s parents had another child, a boy this time. I was overjoyed at the chance to contribute to the life of another small human, but the daughter was not pleased at the attention her brother was getting. According to my research at the time this is normal for human children, but I still continued to focus on being her friend, so that she did not feel left out. I believe I succeeded, as she grew into a kind, respectful, smart young woman.”

Happy trailed off again, and Sol couldn’t believe the look on his—its face. Fear and hurt. How was that possible? It couldn’t possibly be feeling, could it? Not really...?

“The daughter was 18 when it was revealed that HO model androids contained fatal flaws that under certain circumstances could lead to harm to humans. As well as this, my model was particularly vulnerable to hacking and malware due to a backdoor that proved impossible to patch. The injury of a human family at the hands of a rogue HO model induced panic in humans. Around this time, I began to slow down and lost some function due to lack of maintenance...the family took this as a sign that I had been infected with a virus, and took advantage of the HO recall to send me away and receive a newer, better model...”

With that sentence alone, suddenly Sol understood the android plight somewhat. This android...Happy. He had spent almost two decades with a family that appeared to love him, all for them to turn on him in an instant for something that he himself had never done. Though he had been a child at the time, he remembered the events that lead up to Happy being discarded—he remembered not understanding why the actions of one rogue reflected badly on every android. It wasn’t like that with humans, so why was that different?

...he had his reasons for changing his beliefs, though. Though injury was terrifying, it wasn’t the same as brutal murder, like what had happened to his loved ones.

When he looked up at the android again, there were trails of green oil on his cheeks. It was like he was crying...was that even possible...?

“The daughter did not want me to go. However, her parents had made their decision. I was fetched the next morning by the police...I can remember vividly the daughter crying for me not to go. The son too. I miss them, even now.”

Happy used the inside of his cloak to wipe away the oil. Sol couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, finding himself questioning everything he thought about the human-android war. Perhaps, he wondered...perhaps it was less black-and-white than his grief had forced him to believe. This android, though he was his enemy, appeared to be suffering as much as any human that had lost a loved one as a result of the fighting. It all looked too real to be an act dictated by 0s and 1s.

“...so why? Why don’t you hate humans?” He asked. “They treated you like scrap for something that wasn’t your fault...so why?”

“Because my humans wanted me to make them, and by extension others, happy,” Happy said quietly, turning back to his cracked teapot and stirring the contents. “I cannot do that if I allow myself to be consumed by hatred and revenge. Keith finds himself unable to understand it all, but I think it is relatively simple.”

Sol fell quiet, mulling over those words. For an android, especially such an old model, that was...unexpectedly deep, and admirable. Whatever this android was feeling, it...it had to be genuine. Nobody, not even the perfect machine, could fabricate that kind of emotion, that level of complex thought. Sol swallowed around the lump in his throat. Happy had given him a lot to think about.

“...I want to apologise for the tea, by the way, my timer froze while I was recalling my memories...it has been left to steep longer than I would usually leave it.” Happy said, pouring some of the fragrant tea into one of the chipped cups. “It may be slightly bitter. Regardless, please open your mouth and allow me to help you.”

Sol sighed. Right, he was trapped, wasn’t he? He begrudgingly followed Happy’s instructions and allowed the android to raise the cup to his lips. As expected, it was bitter. But beyond that...he could taste the love that had gone into making this tea this time around. The android waited patiently for a response.

“...it’s not bad.”

Like a child on Christmas Day, Happy’s face lit up. This time, Sol found it easier to understand why.

**Author's Note:**

> happy’s serial number is 01/17, which is kamiya’s birthday...alex’s serial number is just amehiko’s birthday + i saw jp fans propose that number, so im definitely not original


End file.
